Cockleshell Raid

Paul Oldfield

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781781592557
• eBook ISBN: 9781783036127
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

Operation Frankton is a story of how a handful of determined and resourceful men, using flimsy canoes, achieved what thousands could not by conventional means. The volunteers had enlisted for Hostilities Only and, except for their leader, none had been in a canoe before. However, with a few months training they carried out what one German officer described as, the outstanding commando raid of the war. They became known as the Cockleshell Heroes, having been immortalized in a film and a book of that name in the 1950s. This book covers the whole of the Frankton story including the development of the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment, the planning and preparation for the raid, its aftermath and an account of the horrific war crimes inflicted on those who were captured. It also includes the epic escape by Haslar and Corporal Bill Sparks across occupied France into Spain.

Table of contents

• Battleground series:
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter One - DEVELOPMENT OF STEALTHY ATTACK TECHNIQUES ON SHIPPING
• Chapter Two - THE ROYAL MARINES BOOM PATROL DETACHMENT
• Chapter Three - GENESIS OF THE RAID
• Chapter Four - INTELLIGENCE
• Chapter Five - PLANNING
• Chapter Six - TRAINING AND PREPARATIONS
• Chapter Seven - THE INSERTION
• Chapter Eight - APPROACH TO THE TARGET
• Chapter Nine - THE ATTACK
• Chapter Ten - RETURN
• Chapter Eleven - RESULTS OF THE RAID
• Chapter Twelve - THE FATE OF THE OTHERS
• Chapter Thirteen - EVENTS IN BRITAIN
• Chapter Fourteen - AFTERMATH
• Chapter Fifteen - ‘FRANKTON’ BATTLEFIELD TOUR
• Chapter Sixteen - USEFUL INFORMATION
• Appendix I - COCKLE MK.II
• Appendix II - EQUIPMENT AND CLOTHING
• Appendix III - RAIDING FORCE BIOGRAPHIES
• Appendix IV - ‘FRANKTON’ MEMORIALS
• Appendix V - SOURCES
• INDEX